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Book Review: Wait Till It Gets Dark by Anita Sanchez and George Steele, Illustrated by John Himmelman

Wait Till It Gets Dark is a children's non fiction book written by Anita Sanchez and George Steele, and Illustrated by John Himmelman. It’s night. It’s dark. It’s time to go indoors—or is it? The outdoors at night can be a scary place, but this book will help young readers investigate the mysterious nature of night. To explore the night, it would be great to have eyes like an owl, the sensitive nose of a deer, and feet that can move as silently as a fox. Humans aren’t quite as good as nocturnal animals at navigating the darkness, but we can come surprisingly close. Our senses are much sharper than we realize, if we learn how to use them. Some scientists are even researching the sensory abilities of human hair!

Wait Till It Gets Dark is a fun and interesting look at what happens outside after dark. I like that the book is broken up into chapters which each focus on a different animals. Readers get a detailed look at how the creature uses its senses and adaptions to explore the night time. The book also explores the senses and abilities of humans, and invites young readers to explore their own abilities. I enjoyed the experiments, and the focus on animal senses, and the colors used in the accompanying artwork. The art work was good, but there were some pieces that just did not meet my expectations, but that could have been more a matter of personal style than anything else. I think the book was geared towards younger kids than I expected, so it would be useful for discussing why you do not need to be afraid of the dark, in preparation of a nighttime walk or camp out for the younger set, as well as the senses and animal skills.